The Missouri Open Meetings and Records Law Better known as… THE SUNSHINE LAW Megan D. Meadows, Esq. mmeadows@spencerfane.com www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
TODAY’S ROADMAP Mo. Rev. Stat. Chapter 610 Who is subject to the Sunshine Law? Public meetings, votes and records Sunshine Law and electronic records Closed meetings, votes and records Responding to sunshine requests “The Bad,” followed by “The Good” www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
SUNSHINE LAW BASICS The Sunshine Law governs the actions of public governmental bodies . Legislative, administrative or other governmental entities. Includes institutions of higher education, all departments of political subdivisions, school districts, special-purpose districts. Also includes “quasi-governmental bodies,” which are entities that perform certain public functions or regularly enter into contracts with public governmental bodies. www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
SUNSHINE LAW BASICS Except as otherwise provided by law - All public meetings of public governmental bodies shall be open to the public as set forth in section 610.020, All public records of public governmental bodies shall be open to the public for inspection and copying as set forth in sections 610.023 to 610.026, and All public votes of public governmental bodies shall be recorded as set forth in section 610.015. www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
PUBLIC MEETINGS What is a public meeting? Any meeting of a public governmental body where public business is discussed, decided, or policy formulated. Quorum must be present. Meeting may be in-person, via conference call or video conference, internet chat, or other electronic means. Notice of all meetings must be posted at least 24 hours in advance. www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
PUBLIC MEETINGS Does NOT include an informal gathering of members of a public governmental body for ministerial or social purposes Unless intent to avoid the purposes of the Sunshine Law Does include luncheon meetings The Kansas City Star v. Shields , 771 S.W.2d 101 (Mo. App. 1989) Does include any electronic (e-mail or otherwise) votes in lieu of holding a public meeting www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
PUBLIC MEETINGS Notice of public meetings must be posted at body’s principal office. The notice must include: Time, date and place of meeting Tentative agenda for all open meetings Whether meeting is open or closed (or both) Not required – but a good idea: Time the notice was posted – to prove compliance with 24 hour notice rule. Can also post notice online or multiple locations. www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
PUBLIC MEETINGS Minutes of all open and closed meetings shall be taken, including a recording of all votes Minutes shall include: Date, time, place Members present and absent Record of votes taken Meetings may be videotaped or recorded by the public www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
PUBLIC VOTES What is a public vote? Any vote cast at any public meeting. Members must be physically present to vote. BUT in an emergency, a member may vote via phone, internet, etc., but only if a quorum is physically present at the meeting location. www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
PUBLIC RECORDS What is a public record? Any record retained by a public governmental body, including those prepared by outside consultants or contractors. Does NOT include internal records which contain advice, opinions, or recommendations for a decision-making process. www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
PUBLIC RECORDS Unless a record falls under an exemption – it is a public record under the Sunshine Law. This includes all electronic records and e- mails, regardless of the format www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
E-MAIL AS PUBLIC RECORDS Any e-mail retained by a public governmental body is a public record. 610.025 requirement for e-mails: Any member who transmits a message relating to public business via e-mail shall also transmit the message to the body’s custodian of records or “office computer” Required for messages sent to two or more members, and if sender and all recipients constitutes a majority. www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
E-MAIL AS PUBLIC RECORDS E-mails that may not fall under the 610.025 guidelines, but are retained, are public records subject to disclosure Personal e-mails kept on work system These may be subject to the Sunshine law if kept However there is no requirement that these be saved E-mail retention policy If your body has one…follow it! www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
ELECTRONIC PUBLIC RECORDS Everything is becoming electronic Other than e-mail, electronic records could mean: Spreadsheets and databases Electronic voting records Ballot initiative records Internet history Phone records Cloud computing Website data “Drafts” of documents www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
CLOSED RECORDS AND MEETINGS All public records and meetings are open and subject to the Sunshine law – unless they can be closed under an exemption The body may, but is not required, to close records and meetings falling under an exemption Exemptions contained in 610.021 Twenty-two (22) subsections www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
EXEMPTIONS UNDER 610.021 Legal actions, causes of action or litigation 1) Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate 2) Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting employees 3) State militia or national guard 4) Non-judicial mental or physical health proceedings of identifiable 5) individuals Scholastic records (except to parents for children under 18) 6) Testing and examination materials 7) Welfare cases of identifiable individuals 8) Preparation for labor negotiations 9) 10) Software codes for electronic data processing www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
MORE EXEMPTIONS Specs for competitive bidding 11) Sealed bids, drawing and proposals 12) Individually identifiable personnel records – does not apply to names, 13) positions, salaries and length of service for all employees Protected by other laws (e.g., voter registration info under 115.157) 14) Scientific and technological innovations 15) Municipal hotlines (abuse and wrongdoing) 16) Confidential communications with auditors 17) Guidelines and policies regarding public safety 18) Security systems and access thereto 19) Computer networking 20) Credit card numbers and personal identifiers 21) Proposals to license property to higher education institution 22) www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
CLOSED MEETINGS A public meeting may only be closed if it falls under one of the exemption categories Before going closed, a vote of the majority of members must be made The specific reason for closing must be announced and entered into the minutes Closed session votes must be made available to the public Includes employment hiring/firing votes – within 72 hours www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
RESPONDING TO REQUESTS 1) Receive the request Is it clear what is being asked for? • 2) Acknowledge the request in writing Respond within three business days, • even if the request cannot be completed that quickly www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
RESPONDING TO REQUESTS Determine whether to accept or reject the request 3) If records to be produced are partially open and partially closed, then required to produce and redact as necessary, providing a reason for the redactions Complete the request 4) Obligated to provide the records in requested format, • if available Charge for research time (employee’s regular rate), • copying (10 cents per page), cost of disk for electronic records www.spencerfane.com Kansas City Omaha Overland Park St. Louis Jefferson City
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